DIRECTV vs. fuboTV vs. Vidgo Television plan comparison
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Staff rating
4.1
Customer rating
3.9
(81)- Plans starting at $48.99
- 350+ channels
Staff rating
3.8
Customer rating
0.0
(0)- Plans starting at $32.99
- 210+ channels
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Staff rating
4.1
DIRECTV offers the best of sports and entertainment in HD
DIRECTV is our top choice for regional sports networks and offers channels for every appetite, but watch out for second-rate DVR tech and hidden fees.
What we like
- Exceptional sports lineup
- Crystal clear 4K picture
- Installation included with activation fee
What we dislike
- Prices go up after year two
- Steep early termination costs
- Lots of hidden fees
Savings tip: DIRECTV often has
sign-up promotions
for first-time customers. Call to ask a rep about current deals and discounts.Check deals
Staff rating
3.8
International football fans rejoice, with a strong sports lineup overall
The Fubo live streaming service is a solid option for sports enthusiasts. In our tests, we loved the international soccer (football) coverage. We also liked the interface and overall sports lineup, but were a little disappointed to miss out on TNT and CNN. We were also bummed by hidden regional sports fees, but highly recommend the seven-day trial.
What we like
- Stellar international soccer coverage
- Certain events and games in 4K
- Good customer service and help documentation
What we don't like
- Missing TNT, TBS, and CNN
- Hidden regional sports fees
- No parental control options
Savings tip: fuboTV often has
sign-up promotions
for first-time customers. Call to ask a rep about current deals and discounts.Check deals
Staff rating
2.2
A hard right on live streaming news
Vidgo costs nearly as much as the top streaming services we reviewed, but it’s harder to use and missing a lot of top channels. It’s the best way to watch One America News plus original programming from Bill O’Reilly, though, and one of the best ways to catch college sports.
What we like
- Strong lineup of right-wing news
- Great college sports coverage
- Access to both Hallmark and Lifetime movies
What we dislike
- Missing popular channels and a robust on-demand library
- No watch history
- Nearly unusable interface
Savings tip: Vidgo often has
sign-up promotions
for first-time customers. Call to ask a rep about current deals and discounts.Check deals
Content
5.0
All the channels you could hope for
DIRECTV satellite offers a metric ton of channels, including almost all the most popular networks in the US. It also offers more regional sports networks than any other TV provider, making it one of our top choices for content among all the providers we review.
Local: 4.5/5
Local channels are the heart of a good TV package, and DIRECTV has you covered at every tier. You get access to the big four networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX) plus a handful of Spanish-language channels. You’ll miss out on a few of the nation’s top 100 picks because they’re only available over the air, but there’s no provider out there that can beat out DIRECTV for local coverage.
Sports: 4.5/5
DIRECTV offers access to every one of the top sports channels out there plus a bunch of regional sports networks, meaning you can catch nearly every game under the sun. We have to say nearly, though, because DIRECTV lost its exclusive contract with NFL Sunday Ticket at the end of 2022. We still think DIRECTV is a stellar choice for sports fans of all kinds, but you’ll have to add the Sunday Ticket channel from YouTube TV if you want every out-of-market game. Pricing starts at $349 per season for YouTube TV subscribers and $449 for just the premium channel.
More Resources:
Family and education: 5/5
When it comes to shows for kids and families, you can’t do better than DIRECTV. You get access to all the heavy hitters, from Disney Jr. to PBS and National Geographic. There’s also PBS, Cartoon Network, and plenty of shows and movies to choose from.
News and politics: 5/5
Like with sports, DIRECTV offers almost all the news and analysis you could hope for. You get local, national, and international coverage plus commentary from both sides of the aisle.
Entertainment and lifestyle: 4.5/5
DIRECTV offers all the movies, reality shows, home improvement series, and true crime channels you can think of. At its top tier, you even get premium channels like HBO, Showtime, and STARZ. When you want everything under the sun with just one package price, DIRECTV is a fantastic option.
Local news, sports, and entertainment channels vary based on your location. Check out
DIRECTV channel offerings
in your area.View plans
Content
3.5
Sports galore, but you may have trouble finding your team
Fubo is a decent all-around replacement for cable TV, but it really shines when it comes to regional sports. This handy channel guide from Fubo is an easy way to see whether your shows and games are available.
Local: 3.5/5
Fubo offers more local channels than most of its competitors in the streaming space, and that means home games, primetime hits, and local news. There’s no PBS or C-SPAN though, and some markets don’t have NBC or ABC. You’ll also miss out on CNN, The CW, A&E, and HBO.
Sports: 3.5/5
Fubo is a great choice for regional sports networks in addition to popular favorites including FS1, Golf, ESPN and ESPN2, and NFL Network, all of which are available on the first-tier. You also get TUDN channels, beIN SPORTS channels, and BIG NETWORK channels, but no TNT. For NBA TV, NHL Network, MLB Network, and PAC 12 coverage (among others), you’ll need the Fubo Extra add-on for about $8 per month. Other add-ons for sports include MLB.TV ($25 per month), NBA League Pass ($15 per month), Adventure Plus ($5 per month), and more.
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Family and education: 2.5/5
Fubo is adequate (but not great) when it comes to programming for kids. You get Disney, Disney Jr., Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. plus Animal Planet and Universal Kids at the first tier. There’s even a channel that’s all Bob Ross, all the time. You can’t get PBS or The CW, though.
News and politics: 3.5/5
Fubo does a little better when it comes to news. You can get local coverage from your ABC, NBC, FOX, Telemundo, Univision, or CBS affiliate station plus Fox News, MSNBC, Bloomberg, NEWSMAX, and Scripps News (a channel not widely available elsewhere). There’s no way to get HLN or CNN with Fubo, though, and you’ll have to pay an extra $3 per month for the News Plus add-on if you want coverage from smaller outlets including ROI, Cheddar News, TYT, and i24 News.
Entertainment and lifestyle: 3/5
From true crime documentaries to love stories and blockbuster hits, Fubo has a lot to offer. We like that Paramount and Bravo are included at the base package price. You can also get TLC, Grit, USA, and three Hallmark channels at that price. There’s no way to get Lifetime channels, though, and there’s also no TBS, History, A&E, AMC, IFC, or Sundance.
Local news, sports, and entertainment channels vary based on your location. Check out
fuboTV channel offerings
in your area.View plans
Content
2.5
The only live TV streaming app with OAN and Bill O’Reilly originals
If Vidgo carries your teams and you resonate with its news offerings, it’s a decent alternative to some of the cable and satellite TV services we reviewed. But for most cord cutters, we can’t recommend Vidgo. Choosing a different streaming service would give you most of the right-wing news you crave and more pro sports.
Local: 1.5/5
Vidgo offers local FOX and ABC channels in some markets (including their respective news coverage) but doesn’t carry NBC, CBS, or PBS. That means missing out on local news and a lot of primetime goodies. We like that there are at least some local channels (you don’t get any with Philo, for instance), but there’s a lot of room for improvement.
Sports: 3/5
Vidgo is so-so when it comes to professional sports, offering MLB Network and NFL Network, but no NBA TV and none of the local channels that host the biggest national games and matches. There’s also a gap when it comes to regional sports networks for pro teams, and there’s no access to TNT. It offers nearly a dozen channels just for college sports, though, plus the standard ESPN, NHL Network, and Fox Sports 1 and 2. It goes above and beyond with sports in Spanish, offering Telemundo, Estrella, Univision, and UniMas.
More Resources:
Family and education: 2.5/5
Vidgo leaves something to be desired when it comes to family viewing. We like that it offers Science, Discovery, four Nickelodeon channels, and three Disney channels in its Ultimate package, but missing local channels and all their great family content is a bummer. There’s no PBS, either, but you will find the Curiosity channel (without add-on pricing) which is rare among other streaming services, plus BYUtv and Great American Family.
News and politics: 2/5
Vidgo is the only live TV service we tested that still offers OAN (One America News), and it’s the home of two new shows from conservative commentator Bill O’Reilly: Shock and Awe and No Spin News. It also features Fox News, Newsmax, and News Nation channels, and the listener-supported channel Vice, but it’s missing CBS, NBC, MSNBC, CNN, and BBC America. Top competitors YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, and DIRECTV STREAM offer a wider range of options, so the focus on right-leaning options is what makes Vidgo stand out.
Entertainment and lifestyle: 2.5/5
We like that Vidgo offers both Lifetime and Hallmark channels, but it’s missing a lot of the most popular entertainment channels out there. There’s no Showtime or HBO (and no add-ons), no Ion Mystery, no Reelz, and no Grit. You will find MTV, CMT, and BET, though. If there’s a particular channel you’re interested in, we recommend checking the Vidgo channel guide before making a decision, because there are no free trials.
Local news, sports, and entertainment channels vary based on your location. Check out
Vidgo channel offerings
in your area.View plans
Value
4.5
Phenomenal lineup of channels and games, but watch for hidden fees
DIRECTV’s satellite service is a solid choice for viewers who don’t have access to cable TV or fast internet, and it has all the most popular channels, plus access to more regional sports networks than any other provider. However, its high prices and required two-year contract make it a poor fit for budget-conscious shoppers.
With DIRECTV’S top offering, PREMIER, you get more than 340 channels. That’s more channels than you can get through most other cable or satellite services and more channels per dollar. You might not care about all the channels—specifically the music and advertising ones—but there’s sure to be something for everyone. You’ll pay extra for sports add-ons, but prices for these extras are on par with the competition.
Get the best value by speaking directly with a sales rep at 1-877-638-2235 or check your address at
DIRECTV's website.
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Value
3.0
A great sports lineup meets high monthly prices
Monthly costs for Fubo are about average compared to competitors we tested, at least for the first tier. For about $75 per month, you get access to more than 140 channels, including a very strong soccer lineup. We also found golf, NASCAR, and NFL options pretty easily. A lot of content is limited to 720p resolution, but that’s standard for a lot of live TV. To access games in 4K, you’ll need to pay for the third- or fourth-tier plan for between $10 and $30 more per month. It’s not cheap, but it may be worth it if you’re a serious international soccer fan. We also liked the add-on lineup, which includes options for soccer in French, Portuguese, and Spanish, plus most of the standard entertainment extras like SHOWTIME and MGM+.
There’s a big drawback, though. The Fubo streaming service doesn’t carry any Turner Network channels, so you can’t get CNN or TNT. Depending on where you live, you may also miss out on local stations, which could mean missing home games. We highly recommend the seven-day free trial, but set yourself a reminder to cancel in case you can’t find your games and teams.
After the trial ends, you’ll be charged the regular monthly price plus local taxes and a regional sports fee, which is either $10.99 per month (if you have one RSN in your area) or $13.99 (if you have more than one RSN or signed up through Roku). Most streaming providers have dropped hidden fees at this point, and we wish Fubo would do the same.
Get the best value by speaking directly with a sales rep or check your address at
fuboTV's website.
Check address
Value
3.0
A subpar live TV streaming experience, but you’ll pay premium prices
Vidgo offers four package options, and they’re not cheap. The cheapest English-language package starts at about the same price as the top live TV streaming services we reviewed. Other packages cost even more.
Rather than try to be everything for everyone, it’s pretty clear Vidgo is going for two main audiences: people who love right-wing news and analysis, and people who love college sports. You’ll also find some heart-warming movies, shows for kids, and music videos, but the channel lineup makes it clear producers care more about starting lineups than love notes or bleeding hearts.
It’s worth noting that Vidgo also has a subscription focused on Spanish-language TV, and we like that it costs $20 less than the cheapest English-language subscription.
Get the best value by speaking directly with a sales rep or check your address at
Vidgo's website.
Check address
Equipment and features
4.0
Genie HD DVR can record five shows at once
DIRECTV offers one of the best day-to-day viewing experiences available from any live TV service, and its picture quality is hard to beat.
Ability to watch: Great
Watching DIRECTV is a pleasure, whether you’re watching from your couch or catching up on your DVR shows from bed. The companion app is also easy to use, and it lets you watch from all the top streaming devices, including Apple TV and Roku.
DIRECTV reports 99% signal reliability (virtually the same as DISH), but if you live in an area with a lot of storms or other interference, it’s possible for your signal to drop out. If that happens, you can still access your DVR, find on-demand content, or stream online. You can also stream away from home using the DIRECTV app on your iPhone or Android.
Ability to record: Great
DIRECTV’s Genie HD DVR receiver is everything you’d expect from a premium cable TV or satellite service. We like how easy it is to find shows you’ve saved to your DVR or bookmarked, and the on-demand library is solid. Your Genie can record five channels at once and store up to 200 hours of HD content. That’s not quite as many channels as with the latest DISH Hopper 3 DVR, and you also get less storage capacity than with almost any live TV streaming service we tested. But unless you need to record a ton of content or several channels at once, DIRECTV’s tech should be adequate.
Rental of your first Genie HD DVR receiver is included with your subscription, but you may have to pay up to $25 every month to use the HD DVR. You will also be charged $7 per month (plus activation fees) to rent additional mini receivers or to upgrade to the wireless version of the Genie HD DVR.
Ability to find: Great
DIRECTV has done a stellar job with its channel guide, making it easy to find your shows in a variety of ways. You can sort the channels in a few ways, choose favorites, or browse by category. You can also select favorites for quick access.
The included backlit remote comes with all the controls you expect for finding, recording, and selecting channels. It doesn’t come standard with voice control, but it’s possible to set that up if you have one of Amazon’s Alexa devices. You also won’t be able to watch streaming services like Netflix and Hulu on your Genie, but that comes standard with DISH.
Features and equipment may vary based on package. Visit
DIRECTV's website
or call 1-877-638-2235 for more information.Features and usability
4.5
One of the best viewing experiences in the streaming space
No matter how you watch Fubo, we think you’ll enjoy the experience. The app is highly rated, the DVR works well, and it's easy to watch simultaneous streams both at home and on the go.
Ability to watch: Great
The day-to-day viewing experience with Fubo is very good. Shows load faster than with DIRECTV STREAM, and there are a lot of games available in 4K. We tested the service on a large Samsung TV, multiple browsers, and mobile devices. We also tested the mobile app, which is rated pretty highly by both Android and Apple users.
Ability to record: Excellent
Fubo offers a cloud DVR that lets you save up to 1,000 hours worth of shows, and we love that it doesn’t expire. You can also watch recent games you forgot to record, and you can pause and rewind most of your live shows and games (depending on the channel). We also liked that the cloud DVR saved a complete episode or game even if we forgot to start recording until the middle. There’s a minor caveat around DVR, though. You get only 250 hours of cloud DVR space with the Latino plan. That seems like a lot, but we don’t recommend it if you support multiple teams or have a household with diverse TV tastes. The other Fubo plans offer 1,000 hours of storage, but many top competitors offer truly unlimited DVR these days. The Fubo app felt faster and more modern than the DIRECTV STREAM options we tested and sleeker than bargain TV streaming services like Philo. Fubo feels a lot like traditional TV, but with a better interface and easier access to free options like Crackle and TYT.
Ability to find: Great
The channel guide from Fubo is fast and modern, and we like that you can see both channel numbers and logos from the home screen. You can see previews and details for a given program without having to click through to it, which is nice. You can also find your stuff using a few other views, and the recommendation engine works well. There were a few things we didn’t like, but we can’t really single out Fubo because we found the same issues elsewhere. First, it was tricky to find the on-demand library or see which shows are available on demand (compared to streaming live or recorded in your cloud DVR). DIRECTV STREAM was much better in that regard, but it only really matters if you’re watching a show that lets you skip commercials.
Ability to share: Excellent
Fubo lets you watch on up to 10 screens at a time, and you can create up to six different user profiles. It was nice to get a six-digit passcode when logging onto a new device rather than having to type in a password, but we didn’t love that we had to share our location every time we opened the mobile app. In today’s privacy-centric world, it felt borderline invasive, but the experience watching on the go was still better than with Hulu + Live TV. In all our tests, Fubo was one of the best services out there for sharing with a big household.
There’s just one minor downside when it comes to parental controls. It was easy to create profiles and get custom recommendations, but there are no parental controls or any way to request only kid-friendly shows on a given profile. We created a profile to watch the Disney Channel, Nick Jr., and Animal Planet, for example, and the first recommendation was South Park. Mmmkay.
Features and usability
1.0
The worst cloud DVR we tested, no profiles, and no watch history
We wish we had a lot of nice things to say about Vidgo’s features, but we only found one: you can stream on at least four devices at a time with one account, with no restrictions around IP addresses or logged-in devices. Things go downhill from there.
Ability to watch: Bad
We started our testing on an iPhone and found out we couldn’t rewind live TV at all, couldn’t fast forward content of any kind, and couldn’t even load a lot of the on-demand content. The problems persisted when we moved our testing to a Safari browser. Watching on a PC or Chrome browser was easier, and the Android app worked well overall. But we ran into confusing quirks and bugs on every device.
Things got a little easier when we tried Vidgo on streaming devices, but the interface was clunky and boxy. The bare bones functionality of watching TV live is there, but it takes several clicks to watch anything at all, and there are multiple weird pop-up boxes throughout the experience.
We found several college sports channels, but our testers noticed low-quality feeds on some games. The load times for games felt faster than with DIRECTV STREAM, the reigning RSN provider in live TV streaming, but we couldn’t get on-demand movies to load at all on several of the devices we tested.
You can pause live TV, but it’s basically just a mute button because pressing “play” takes you right back to the live version. You can rewind live TV, but only back as far as you’ve been watching live. There’s no way to skip commercials, even if you wait for a lag of several minutes. If you’re using a PC, you can speed up or slow down the show, but the highly unusual feature is glitchy and feels unnecessary.
You can’t fast-forward easily with on-demand shows and movies either, though some devices let you drag a play bar back and forth. It is possible to skip ahead when watching from the on-demand library, but only if you’re using Edge or Chrome browsers or relying on the capabilities of your streaming device (such as an Apple TV).
It doesn’t get much better when it comes to the on-demand library. You can “Favorite” channels and sort by Favorites in the channel guide, but that doesn’t have any impact on your home screen. Instead, you get blasted with content Vidgo considers “Top Shelf,” meaning mostly Fox News.
Watching from the on-demand library was beyond frustrating. We were eventually able to watch on-demand movies on a MacBook, but only with Chrome and Firefox browsers. Other times, we couldn’t get anything to load at all. We understand that not everything is set up to work well with Safari, but Vidgo’s own documentation encourages using the browser. Not a good look.
Ability to record: Bad
Vidgo offers cloud DVR, but it’s terrible. For starters, the maximum possible storage is just 20 hours, which never expire but that you’ll use up in a hurry. Top streaming competitors offer unlimited cloud DVR and include it in the package price, so Vidgo is clearly in the minor leagues here. Maybe even the little leagues.
Using the DVR is a challenge, too. First, it’s hard to get anything to record. You can’t start a recording in the middle of a program, and most of the time the shows we had selected for DVR weren’t actually recorded. Over several days of testing, none of our recordings showed up in the mobile app.
We finally found some (but not all) of our intended recordings using a Chrome browser, but there was no easy way to skip commercials.
From the home screen, you can (allegedly) set recordings by clicking on a show’s image card. You’ll probably have to click several times, though, and it may never work.
Ability to find: Bad
Things get even worse with the channel guide. You first have to click on the bright red “i” button on every channel to get to the description, and then look for the DVR button to the right. That “i” button looks like an exclamation point at first glance, so we thought it was a warning rather than a functional button.
For better or worse, channel surfing is also a no-go. There is a mini player, but if you’re watching on it, there’s no way to get back to the guide. If you pause a show and wait too long to get back on, there’s a good chance you’ll lose your place entirely and be kicked back to the (un-customizable) home screen.
Ability to share: Fine
There are no profiles, no parental controls, no 4K, no surround sound, and no other perks we could find. We were able to get around the three-device limit and watch in multiple locations, though, which earned the provider a little extra credit. Unfortunately, we're pretty sure that's a bug and not a feature.
Customer experience
3.0
Nasty hidden fees and so-so support
DIRECTV has some factors that make the customer experience great, but others that we find almost unacceptable. You get free professional installation if you sign a 2-year contract, for example, but there’s a weird $20 activation fee. DISH also includes installation at no extra cost, but traditional cable TV providers can charge $50–$100 or more, even if you do the work yourself.
Included installation is a big benefit, but you’ll pay for it in the long-run over the course of your 2-year commitment. Plus, there are massive cancelation fees of nearly $20 per month remaining on your contract if you want to get out early. There are other fees to watch out for, too. Check the fee schedule from DIRECTV for a complete breakdown.
If you need to contact customer service, your experience will be about average among TV providers we reviewed. You’ll find a lot of complaints in online reviews, but that’s pretty par for the course.
Visit DIRECTV's website
or call 1-877-638-2235 for more information on contracts and money-back guarantees.Go to provider
Customer experience
4.5
A nice overall experience
Fubo treats its customers well, for the most part. The website and app are easy to use and navigate, and you can pretty easily see what you’ll be getting before you sign up. There’s extensive help documentation on the main site, or you can reach customer service by phone or even social media. We also really like the seven-day free trial and the 24-hour email notification that the trial would be ending soon. However, we wish the RSN fee were rolled into the base package price.
If you don’t like what you’re getting with Fubo, it’s easy to cancel your subscription, but your favorites and DVR won’t be saved. You can also pause your subscription for up to three months, which is a nice perk.
Visit fuboTV's website
or call for more information on contracts and money-back guarantees.Go to provider
Customer experience
2.5
Plenty of room to improve
We were surprised to learn that Vidgo launched in 2018 because it still feels very beta. The interface and website are clunky and the packages and offerings change often. That said, we had to call in to customer service a few times and had relatively positive experiences. They even let us cancel the service without too much hassle, but it was a little strange. Rather than disabling our user profile, they just removed our credit card info.
Vidgo earned some of our lowest star rankings among both traditional TV and streaming providers, but it’s not hopeless! A new executive team was brought on toward the end of 2022, and we look forward to seeing what’s on deck. (1)
Visit Vidgo's website
or call for more information on contracts and money-back guarantees.Go to provider
Made up your mind?
Find out what providers are available near you.
DIRECTV
3.9
(81)5 Star
35%
4 Star
40%
3 Star
16%
2 Star
7%
1 Star
2%
L
Larryfrom Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
DIRECTV Customer for 4+ years
Reviewed on: 7/17/2022
I get what pay for - literally.
R
Richardfrom Nebo, NC
DIRECTV Customer for 8+ years
Reviewed on: 7/12/2022
good service cost is little high
W
Williamfrom Sylvania, GA
DIRECTV Customer for 4+ years
Reviewed on: 7/2/2022
THE SIGNAL DOES NOT HOLD UP DURING BAD WEATHER
I
Isabellafrom Centreville, AL
DIRECTV Customer for 8+ years
Reviewed on: 6/28/2022
cost too much for the value of the programing
fuboTV
0.0
(0)5 Star
0%
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0%
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0%
2 Star
0%
1 Star
0%
Vidgo
0.0
(0)5 Star
0%
4 Star
0%
3 Star
0%
2 Star
0%
1 Star
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Endnotes and sources
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Endnotes and sources
Endnotes and sources
- Vidgo Makes Waves Under New Leadership Team, Led by CEO Derek Mattsson & COO Bill Feininger,” Businesswire. Accessed 16 January 2023.
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